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Zhan Y, Yao Z, Groffman PM, Xie J, Wang Y, Li G, Zheng X, Butterbach-Bahl K. Urbanization can accelerate climate change by increasing soil N 2 O emission while reducing CH 4 uptake. Glob Chang Biol 2023; 29:3489-3502. [PMID: 36825371 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Urban land-use change has the potential to affect local to global biogeochemical carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. We conducted a meta-analysis to (1) assess the effects of urbanization-induced land-use conversion on soil nitrous oxide (N2 O) and methane (CH4 ) fluxes, (2) quantify direct N2 O emission factors (EFd ) of fertilized urban soils used, for example, as lawns or forests, and (3) identify the key drivers leading to flux changes associated with urbanization. On average, urbanization increases soil N2 O emissions by 153%, to 3.0 kg N ha-1 year-1 , while rates of soil CH4 uptake are reduced by 50%, to 2.0 kg C ha-1 year-1 . The global mean annual N2 O EFd of fertilized lawns and urban forests is 1.4%, suggesting that urban soils can be regional hotspots of N2 O emissions. On a global basis, conversion of land to urban greenspaces has increased soil N2 O emission by 0.46 Tg N2 O-N year-1 and decreased soil CH4 uptake by 0.58 Tg CH4 -C year-1 . Urbanization driven changes in soil N2 O emission and CH4 uptake are associated with changes in soil properties (bulk density, pH, total N content, and C/N ratio), increased temperature, and management practices, especially fertilizer use. Overall, our meta-analysis shows that urbanization increases soil N2 O emissions and reduces the role of soils as a sink for atmospheric CH4 . These effects can be mitigated by avoiding soil compaction, reducing fertilization of lawns, and by restoring native ecosystems in urban landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhan
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
- College of Earth Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Zhisheng Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Peter M Groffman
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College, Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Junfei Xie
- Beijing Institute of Landscape Architecture, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Yan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
- College of Earth Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Guangtao Li
- Ministry of Transport, Tianjin Research Institute for Water Transport Engineering, Tianjin, P.R. China
| | - Xunhua Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
- College of Earth Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
- Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- Department of Agroecology, Pioneer Center Land-CRAFT, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
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